Motivation for this Strategic Initiative:
Becoming a successful researcher requires a host of learned skills that range from determining the optimal sequence of the right projects to crafting crisp, incisive manuscripts attractive to high-profile journals and pitches that return ample extramural funding. Faculty in Natural Sciences have had success in these endeavors, but we believe that we can help faculty be even more successful by taking deliberate actions. For our faculty to achieve the level of success and recognition that is consistent with R1 status requires a focus on not simply mentoring junior faculty through tenure but all faculty throughout their careers. It requires attention to individual needs, help in planning for merit and promotion, and active development of strong professional networks that will lead to nominations for prestigious honors and awards. These activities will help us achieve our vision of being a world-class research campus with R1 status.
Summary of Task Force Report (see appendix for full report)
The task force identified four goals related to the strategic initiative for faculty success. These are: 1) Provide mentoring on research and teaching as well as mentorship training for new and continuing faculty; 2) Create a welcoming space for new and continuing faculty at UC Merced; 3) Create a support network for faculty grants and publications; and 4) Enhance the methods used for evaluating teaching. For each of these goals, the task force identified action items for the first and subsequent years. For the first goal of improving faculty mentoring, the first-year action items are to create a new formal faculty peer mentoring program in which the mentoring interactions and outcomes will be documented, and feedback given as needed to ensure effective faculty mentoring. The mentors will receive recognition for this service. For the second goal, the immediate-term action item is to revamp the school’s onboarding process to include introductions for new faculty to ORD and SPO staff. Ideally, materials from this process will be made available as “refreshers” so other faculty can keep up with changing processes. A related action item is to encourage meetings between new faculty and their department chairs to discuss teaching assignments, possible service roles, and expectations for tenure. Another action item for this goal will be updating the SNS website to include shortcuts to the most common information needed by new faculty. For the third goal, our immediate action item is to reconnect faculty to staff through a series of in-person events as soon as is feasible. As part of this effort, we will identify missing essential support and infrastructural faculty needs so that addressing them can be a priority. Finally, SNS will begin discussions with the department chairs and CETL to explore different approaches to evaluating teaching beyond just student comments, such as peer observation, self-reflection and quantitative assessment, and student interviews.
Proposed Action Items (see Task Force Report for more details and metrics)
2021-2022
- Develop a community approach to mentoring faculty, creating a near-peer situation through a formal mentoring program.
- Create opportunities for faculty mentors to be recognized for their service, such as sponsored mentor/mentee lunches, nominations for the Faculty Senate mentorship award, or creating such an award within the School.
- Design a new onboarding process for new faculty, including introductions to faculty support staff, information on how to interact with ORD, SPO, and budget administration, as well as clear information about the merit and promotion process.
- Work with SNS staff to regularly update the SNS website so faculty can easily find who to contact for different support functions.
- Schedule events leading to re-establish more interactions between faculty and staff.
2022-2023
- Explore ways to provide funds to attend mentoring workshops (such as Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) or National Research Mentoring Network (NRNM) mentor training) for both junior and senior faculty as well as provide workshops in house to assist faculty in their mentoring efforts.
- Build a better communication link between new faculty and ORD services so faculty know who to contact and ORD staff are more aware of faculty who are seeking assistance with the grant process and their research fields.
- Encourage departments to examine acceleration criteria for advancement cases rather than relying on faculty to request acceleration for themselves.
- Work with departments to ensure new faculty meet with their chair to cover specific topics like departmental structure and roles including existing committees and assignments, teaching obligations, expectations for tenure, and the importance of having a faculty mentor.
2023 and after
- Establish additional metrics to complement student evaluations for use in the advancement of faculty to provide constructive criticism and feedback from senior colleagues/mentors.
